Day 2: Au revoir, Paris!

We picked up a rental car and left Paris for the country side this morning. On our way to the rental agency we picked up some croissants and coffee for breakfast. We also purchased a baguette and other snacks for the day. We did not let the drizzly weather dampen our spirits and soon we were on our way. We had very little difficulty leaving Paris. The cars coming in to Paris: well that was another story.

Our first stop of the day was at an abandoned chateau. The majority of the structure was still standing. It was several stories tall. We spent a few hours exploring and taking photos. The rooms on the main floors were almost completely empty, save for a few chairs. Every room on the main floor was different. There was a picturesque grand staircase with wrought iron railings in the main hallway leading to the second floor. The second floor was also quite barren with many of the rooms boarded up. The third floor and fourth floor were stripped down to just the structural supports:  just wall joists and floor joists.

Our second destination of the day did not yield any positive results. Not every venture is a successful one.

We stopped in Reims for dinner at an Italian diner. The three of us ordered the exact same meals: risotto with prawns and artichoke hearts, and a cup of coffee. The waiter was amused. On our way back to the car, we picked up another round of assorted macaroons. This time we came away with chocolate, fleur de sel, and lemon.

We had made plans to meet up with a friend from Belgium to do some exploring together. The journey to meet him was lengthy and also involved travelling a 6-7 km tunnel through a mountain.  The toll for the tunnel was 9 euros. Yikes! We figured for that price, we should at least take a few pictures inside the tunnel to document the experience. The tunnel had periodic pull offs for cars so we stopped at one. Within a minute of us stopping, getting out, and pulling out our cameras, someone started yelling at us over an intercom (in French). We hastily returned to the car and continued on our way. Oh well.

We arrived at our hotel just before midnight. Our friend was already there, waiting for us. We quickly discussed our plans for the morning and then retired to our rooms for the evening. Tomorrow will be another day!

Update on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 4:45PM by Cess

Matt reviews his shot to see if he will keep it:

The dramatic staircase with beautiful wrought iron railings:

Day 1: Bonjour, mes amies!

Matt and I are off on another adventure in Europe. This time, we are travelling with Bart, a friend who is also an avid photographer. Although we will be together for two weeks, Bart will be staying in Europe when we return home. This made for some unconventional travel arrangements. Matt and I flew out from Toronto and landed in Gatwick. Bart, on the other hand, landed in Heathrow. We would meet at St. Pancras train station and then take a Eurostar train to Paris. Mon dieu!

We were all pretty exhausted by the time we boarded the train to Paris. Matt and I completely missed the tunnel under the English Channel. According to Bart, we didn't miss much. The tunnel had no lighting and we travelled through in complete darkness. When we arrived in Paris, we felt more refreshed and walked to our hotel located just under 1 km away from the station. After settling in and rearranging our bags, we did a bit of quick sightseeing in Paris.

We ventured out and made our way to Paris' Metro. After quickly consulting the maps, we made our way to the Louvre and spent a little bit of time taking some photos. We continued our walk and saw Notre Dame Cathedral. We were making our way to the Eiffel Tower when we decided to stop for dinner. It had been quite a few hours since any of us had eaten. We stopped at a cafe and ordered our meals. As soon as our food arrived, it started raining. And boy did it rain. We were quite lucky that we had stopped when we did. The rain came down harder and harder. Since there was no sign of the rain letting up, we decided we would end our sightseeing and return to the hotel. Quite by chance, there was a chocolaterie right beside the cafe. We picked up an assortment of French macaroons. Oh la la! Very tasty. We joked on the way back to the hotel that we should get up early in the morning and have a baguette fight and eat croissants. Did I mention our dinner also included French fries? ;)

Tomorrow we will be picking up our rental car and leaving Paris for the country side. Our new adventure begins!